Hollows and Reapers and Berries Oh My!
by BloodRedDeathGod
Summary: Ichigo is caught in the middle of a gang war. Will Grimmjow be enough to protect him? Warnings: Yaoi, language, AU, violence Grimmjow x Ichigo
1. Round 1, Fight!

**This was inspired by a conversation with a friend of mine, so I had to write it. Hope you enjoy!**

**My story is unbeta'd because I haven't found a beta that will beta yaoi, and a **_**good **_**beta that will beta yaoi xD So there will be a couple spelling/grammar mistakes but I try my best to catch them all before posting it.**

**Warnings: Language, violence, future yaoi (yes that means men having sex)**

**Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own Bleach or any of its characters :c**

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**Hollows and Reapers and Berries Oh My!**

**Chapter 1: **

**Round 1, Fight!**

Ichigo walked at a hurried pace through a back alley, carefully avoiding the trash and various things strewn on the ground in an attempt to walk quietly. This part of Karakura was notorious for gang fights, shootouts, robberies, and other various crimes, but at the moment it was the only way for the berry to get to his place of work, the Urahara Shoten. He knew he should take the bus, but there have been stories about it being stopped and robbed on several occasions, especially during the afternoon when he worked. Sure, Ichigo could defend himself, but not against a man with a gun, which most gang bangers had, and he would rather keep his hard earned cash. He had finally convinced his father that he didn't want to work the clinic anymore, which broke the old man's heart, but it had to be done. Ichigo just wasn't making enough money there to support himself. He had finally moved out of his goat faced father's house, and into his own one bedroom apartment. Which lead to his current situation, walking through gang territory to get to work.

"Hey there." Ichigo froze, his blood turning to ice in his veins. He turned, slowly, hoping to god it was some punk wannabe gang banger, not the real thing. Everything the berry had eaten for lunch seemed to grow heavy in his stomach as dread sank in through his skin. The man who had addressed him was, in fact, a gang banger. The trademark white outfit with black trim gave him away as a Hollow, as did the black hole tattoo on his right inner forearm. He stood at what Ichigo guessed had to be 7 feet tall, with long black hair and an eye patch covering his left eye. The man was lanky, but obviously muscled, and probably had more than a couple weapons on him. A shit-eating grin plastered itself across the tall man's face. Ichigo stood, frozen, hoping his expression portrayed a scowl rather than the fear in his gut as the gang banger pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning on and approached the berry. _'How the hell did I not hear him sneak up behind me?' _Ichigo thought, using the flicker of frustration to ward off the fear.

"What's a pretty boy like you doin' out so late?" His voice was patronizing and succeeded in pissing the berry off further. Ichigo noticed a 5 tattooed on the man's tongue. He had heard rumors that each member had their rank tattooed on them somewhere, and if they were removed from that rank their tattoo was removed via painful laser surgery. The thought made Ichigo shudder.

"Awww, ya cold? I could warm ya up." The man sneered, and took a step closer to the berry. Ichigo was about to snap back at the lanky man when another voice cut him off.

"Leave him be Nnoi." The voice was rough, deep, and sent goosebumps down Ichigo's spine. Behind the man addressed as 'Nnoi' was a blue haired god. He wore a simple jacket that was cut short and left open to reveal a chiseled torso and washboard abs, adorned by a long scar that reached from his collar bones down to his pants line. His pants were white and tight fitting, finished off with black and white converse. Surprise registered somewhere in the back of Ichigo's mind as he recognized Grimmjow Jeagerjaques back from high school. So he was a Hollow now? That hadn't been too hard to foresee. The delinquent always had an air about him that seemed to scream gang banger.

"Leave the kid alone. We got shit to do." He growled at his fellow gang banger, who was still sneering at Ichigo. He watched as Grimmjow lit up a smoke and turned to leave. Every move was graceful and powerful, like a panther, mesmerizing Ichigo. Suddenly the berry realized his mouth was still open and he snapped it shut, replacing his embracement with a trademark scowl.

"Hey kid, get out of here while you can." Grimmjow shot over his shoulder, not bothering to stop or turn around.

"It's Ichigo, dumbass." The words slipped from his mouth before he could catch them. Ichigo took off down the alley at a brisk walk; not wanting to know what would happen if that remark had pissed the gang bangers off. Grimmjow stopped walking and turned, watching the berry stalk down the alley with amusement.

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Grimmjow smirked. It wasn't often that he found someone who didn't run screaming from him.

"Shoulda let me beat that little fucker inta the ground." Nnoitra grumbled as they headed toward the warehouse district.

"I like 'im. He's got balls, unlike half the pussies in this city. Plus he had a nice ass." Grimmjow growled, taking another drag from his smoke. Nnoitra laughed. They were both gay, which you'd think would be something to hide in a gang, but not this one. Aizen, their leader, had been known to bat for the other team on occasion. He would not tolerate homophobia in the least, and often sent his men after known homophobes. Most of the people in his gang were homosexual or bisexual, and no one dared comment on it.

The warehouses loomed up in front of them as they emerged from the alley way. There were maybe 50 warehouses, only a handful in use, and all of those were of course tied to the Hollows. Aizen owns this warehouse district. The boys were heading to one warehouse in particular.

Upon entrance, the first thing one would notice was all the couches and comfy places to sit. The second thing is all the computers, TV screens placed around the room, and the throne situated perfectly so whoever sat in it had a perfect view of the warehouse. Of course, the only one who ever sat in it was Aizen, and occasionally his daughter, Mizuki. Originally the plan was to use the warehouse as HQ, until they found a building that Aizen had decided to make over and use instead. Now this was more of a hangout that Mizuki had designed. It was all black and white, with touches of teal, red, blue or whatever colour fit the person who had claimed that spot. Currently Aizen lounged lazily in his throne, his chin leaning on his hand, a book resting in his lap. Grimmjow and Nnoitra approached him.

"I suppose your errand was successful?" He asked, calm as ever.

"A course Aizen-sama." Nnoitra replied, tossing the man in power a huge wad of cash from his pocket. Aizen caught it without blinking.

"Thank you boys. You may go." Both men bowed and went off to their corner, where Starrk had set up a game of chess atop the low white table with Mizuki. Her messy black hair hung down over one eye like usual, her unobstructed bright teal eye trained on the game in front of her. Her lips were so pale that they matched her skin tone, making her appear almost like she didn't have a mouth. Over all she was adorable, and they all treated her like a sister. Despite the fact that she was the 2nd in Hollow rank. Aizen had been furious when she had demanded to challenge his previous second, but allowed it in favor of not seeming biased. The man had been old, but he was smart. She had barely won that fight. Her boyfriend, Ichimaru Gin, was leaning against the wall rolling a joint. Now that man had balls.

"Yo." Grimmjow grunted before taking a seat. Starrk simply nodded at him and yawned. Mizuki smiled sweetly, ever silent, and Gin offered him a drag off his joint. Grimmjow accepted it and took a long pull, holding the smoke in his lungs before exhaling. He loved the smell, the taste, the high. His mind settled into the familiar feeling of simultaneously expanding and being weighed down as he realized someone was missing.

"Where's Ulquiorra and Hal?"

"They were sent on some mission by Aizen." Starrk replied offhandedly. "Should be back tomorrow or the day after." Grimmjow arched a single blue eyebrow. When people were sent out for more than a day at a time it meant top secret. It meant that there was a possibility of them being followed by someone who posed a threat to the gang, so they stayed in a hotel. It meant danger. Of course, all of the ranking Hollows had been sent out on one of these missions. The higher the rank that had been dispatched, the harder and more dangerous the job. They were the strongest of the Hollows, the most trusted. The Espada. Only the Hollow that ranked 10 and up were Espada, number 1, Starrk Coyote, the primera, being the most powerfull. Normally Grimmjow hated labels, but this one was alright. Espada was Spanish for sword or swordsman; it was a term that this same gang used forever ago when people actually used swords. The silence hung heavily at the table and Grimmjow's mind kept drifting back to the ballsy ginger in the alley. Ichigo, he said his name was Ichigo. The blunette had a faint recollection of him from his days in high school, but they had never spoken.

"I heard it was the Reapers again." Mizuki signed. She had never spoken a word, not once in her life. She had never even uttered a sound except for huffing and sighing and the like. Nothing that required vocal chords. So instead she spoke sign language, and the rest of the Hollows had to learn to sign as well. All the Espada were fluent by now, having spent so much time around the girl.

"Mmm, prob'ly. They're always causin' trouble." Gin murmured. The Reapers leader, the notorious pervert Urahara Kisuke, tended to get himself into trouble with the Hollows a lot. He didn't much care what his people did, which resulted in many fights. Sure there were some nasty rumors going around about Aizen, but at least he disciplined his people.

Starrk made a move on the chessboard, a lazy smile playing across his face.

"Check mate." He said in his chocolaty voice. Mizuki's eyes went wide and she huffed, scowling as she pulled out a cigarette, as did Starrk, Nnoitra, Grimmjow, and Gin.

"Woah woah woah when did you start smoking?" Nnoitra asked. She rolled her eyes at him.

"Since I was 16. I grew up in a gang, guys. I can be pretty sneaky too." Her shoulders were shaking slightly in one of her odd silent laughs.

"At least she doesn't smoke cigars like her old man." Grimmjow teased. They all laughed in agreement.

_Bang. _The door to the warehouse slammed open. In strode Halibel carrying an unconscious Ulquiorra. There was blood everywhere. The whole warehouse fell silent, all eyes on the tercera Espada carrying the cuarto.

"What happened?" Aizen's voice seemed to boom. He didn't move from his seat as Hal set Ulquiorra down in front of the throne.

"Reapers." Was all Halibel said. That one word was enough to ignite rage in the Hollows. They stood, the murmuring in the room turning to shouting.

"Quiet." The room fell silent almost immediately. Everyone turned to face Aizen, expectantly. If anyone were to light a lighter at that moment, it would probably ignite the tension in the room and blow them all to fuck.

"First, we get medical attention for our cuarto. Mizu?" Aizen found his daughter in the crowd. She stood and hurried over to Ulquiorra, who was still unconscious, lying in a growing puddle of blood. After a quick examination of the wounded man, she turned and nodded to Aizen. She could keep him alive long enough to get him to a hospital. Immediately she went to work, signing things to various Hallows so fast that Grimmjow couldn't keep track of what was being said as they hurried off to get her the things she needed. Some of the tension was released from Grimmjow's shoulders. Ulquiorra would live. He may be a prick and a suck up, but the quiet man tends to grow on you after a couple years.

All the Hollows' attention was still trained on Aizen, waiting for a command, a plan, something. He sat quietly, seeming to think for a while as the tension in the air grew thick again, making it difficult to breathe. The three simple words that came out of his mouth changed Grimmjow's life forever.

"This means war."

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**So, what did you think? This is not a one shot, I will be continuing it. Review, gimme some feedback! :)**


	2. KO!

**So, here's chapter 2 :) Apparently this story was a good idea because it's been gettin more attention than my other one xD **

**Again, warning for strong language and violence and all that shit. In later chapters there may be some yaoi too**

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**Hollows and Reapers and Berries Oh My!**

Chapter 2:

KO!

Ichigo finished sweeping the floor of the Urahara Shoten. It was midnight, closing time. As usual the store didn't get much business that day, but somehow Kisuke managed to keep the store open. Sometimes the berry wondered if the creepy man was secretly a drug dealer or something.

Ichigo began to organize products on one of the low shelves, rearranging the random nick nacks Urahara liked to sell. The door to the Shoten slid open and closed with a sharp clack sound.

"We're closed." Ichigo called over his shoulder. Then he heard a gun cock. He froze, then slowly straightened up, his hands raised.

"Where's Urahara." The voice was deep, commanding, but soft, and reminded Ichigo of chocolate. He slowly turned to face the assailants. One was tall, a few inches taller than Ichigo, with brown hair that brushed his shoulders. The other was that same tall, lanky guy from the alley earlier that day. They were Hollows.

"Uh- he took the day off... had some shit to take care of." Ichigo mumbled, eyes trained on the Colt M1911 pointed at his chest. It was black and white, unusual colouring for a Colt. The lanky man beside the gunman narrowed his one visible eye.

"Tell him that Aizen received his message. And tell him that we have taken it as a declaration of war." With that the man turned and walked out of the Shoten, followed by his lanky accomplice. '_War? What the fuck is going on here?' _Ichigo thought as he hurriedly pulled his phone out and dialed Urahara's number.

"Moshi Moshi." Urahara's overly cheery voice answered.  
"What the fuck Urahara, some Hollows just put a gun to my fuckin head and told me that they took your message as a declaration of war and what in fucks name is going on here?" Ichigo practically screamed. There was still a knot in his stomach and a layer of clammy sweat coating his skin. It took Urahara a second to process Ichigo's shouting.

"What did they look like Ichigo?" Out of all the things he expected from the creepy bastard, that question wasn't one of them.

"Why the fuck does it matter? They were Hollows, holding a gun to _my _head-"

"Ichigo, what did they look like." It wasn't a question.

"Uh, one was insanely tall… creepy smile, eye patch, and the other was a few inches taller than me, brown hair, grey eyes." Ichigo growled through his clenched teeth. There was another heavy silence. Ichigo heard a muffled "Shit…" from Urahara's end.

"Ichigo, get yourself home. I'll take care of this." Urahara finally said, all traces of the creepy pervert he worked for were gone.

"That's it? You don't want me to call the cops or _anything?_" Ichigo was beyond pissed. His usually creamy skin was flushed with anger.

"It's a personal matter. I'll take care of it. Now get home." Something in his boss' tone made Ichigo stop before he snapped again. He scowled and hung up without saying goodbye.

The streets were dark and ominous, every shadow seeming to creep or crawl or whisper. Ichigo knew very well that this was gang territory, and he had already been spotted creeping through it earlier today by the same gang, the same guy even, who held a gun to his head. '_What if that message was because I was in their territory?'_ The thought hit the berry like a ton of bricks. Was it _his_ fault? Did he just start a war between a gang and his boss? His head was spinning, his brow furrowed into a scowl.

"Thought I told ya ta scram." The voice startled Ichigo enough that he nearly yelped, effectively scattering his thoughts. He bit down hard on his tongue to keep from making rather unmanly noises and spun to confront the owner of the voice. His heart felt like it was going to tear through his chest. Leaning on a wall next to an alley not 100 feet from the berry was the blue haired god who had indeed told him to "scram" earlier that day. Ichigo froze, not sure what to do, his eyes glued to the delinquent, who smirked. And that was the sexiest damn smirk the berry had ever laid eyes on. Ichigo blushed at the thoughts that smirk put into his orange head. This just caused the said smirk to widen.

"Come on berry boy. Move that sweet little ass or it'll get beat." Ichigo was just about to respond with a scathing retort when Grimmjow's hand reached out and smacked his ass, causing him to let out the undignified yelp he held in earlier. The blue haired man grinned over his shoulder as he walked past the berry, who blushed a deep red, but followed the grinning delinquent out of gang territory anyway.

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Urahara stood before his gang, his trademark hat hiding his eyes, his hands folded neatly over the handle of his cane. The dim lights of an abandoned dojo shone on their wary faces. The whole group was quiet for once, watching their leader. Finally, he lifted his steel coloured eyes to scan the crowd, his face unnaturally serious.

"I would like to know…" he began, his voice light but each word deliberate. "Who pissed off the Hollows." Silence stretched on, heavy and dark.

"I believe it was Renji." The voice was calm, nearly monotonous, as was the face it belonged to. Byakuya Kuchiki sat in the back of the dojo, leaning on a wall, his eyes closed. A smile bloomed on Kisuke's face, similar to the cheesy grin he usually wore but somehow more menacing, more forced, as he turned to the red head who had gone pale.

"Oh? And how did that go, Renji-kun?" Renji's face paled. Hisagi and Ikkaku stiffened beside him.

"He was on our turf, the cocky bastard." Renji ground out through gritted teeth. All eyes were on him. Urahara's strained smile fell. One second he was standing before everyone, resting his hands on his cane, the next he was backhanding Renji. The slap echoed off the dojo walls. No one made a sound.

"Do you realize what you've done? You've started a war! This is on you! All those deaths will be on your head!" Still, no sound was made as Urahara's raised voice echoed around the room. The man may be a pervert but his anger could strike fear in the most intimidating Reapers hearts.

"Hai… Urahahra-sama." Renji finally mumbled, his head bowed. Urahara sighed, tilting his hat down over his eyes, his usual smile still absent from his face.

"I suggest that you prepare yourselves. Things are about to get messy."

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Grimmjow walked quickly down the alley, the berry easily keeping stride with him. The blue haired gangbanger knew very well that he shouldn't be helping this gaijin, especially during such an unstable time. So why was he doing it? It sure as hell wasn't out of the kindness of his heart. Why was this idiot back in gang territory anyway? He'd nearly gotten fucked, quite literally, by Nnoitra earlier that same day. You'd think the kid would learn to stay away.

"Why'd ya come back? Miss me?" Grimmjow teased, casting a sidelong smirk at the scowling berry.

"It's the only way for me to get to work, ass hole." Ichigo snapped, still glaring at the blunette. Grimmjow's smirk disappeared.

"An' where do ya work?" He asked, his voice a losing its usual condescending growl.

"The Urahara Shoten." Ichigo replied, confused by Grimmjow's sudden seriousness. The blunette stopped in his tracks. Ichigo stopped and turned to face him just in time for a fist to connect with his jaw. Gasping taken aback, the berry soon righted himself, only to be tacked harshly to the ground.

"You're a mole aren't you!" It wasn't a question. Grimmjow had Ichigo pinned to the trash strewn ground, their noses nearly touching. The blunette looked murderous.

"A mole for what?!" Ichigo yelled back, trying to twist and throw the larger man off of him.

"Don't play dumb pretty boy. You're Urahara's mole. That's why you been sniffin' around where ya don't belong." The blunette didn't budge, but instead raised his fist, ready to crush the betraying berries face in.

"What the fuck is going on?!" Ichigo yelled, carmel eyes blazing. He had given up on trying to escape, and simply lay still, his shoulder aching from where Grimmjow's large hand pressed it harshly to the ground. Frustration boiled up in him. It was obvious that there was something going on that he didn't know about. Grimmjow opened his mouth, sharp canines glinting, ready to tear the berry a new one, when a voice behind him cut him off.

"Eh, lay off 'im Grimmy. He don't know nothin." Ichigo glanced over the blunette's shoulder. Behind him stood a slim man with shaggy silver hair. His eyes were just slits, his skin pale as moonlight, but his most prominent feature was his smile. It seemed to stretch across his face, never wavering. A shudder went through Ichigo's spine. Which is when he realized exactly how close Grimmjow had pressed to him. A blush coloured the berry's face.

"Get off me!" He yelled, taking the blunette by surprise by shoving at his chest. Ichigo stumbled to his feet, his heart hammering in his chest. "Now tell me what the fuck is going on!"

This made Gin chuckle. Grimmjow glanced at him. It was true that the guy was a Hollow and dating the gang leader's daughter, but there have been rumors that the fox like man was deeper into the gang than that. He had been a member for a little less than a year and was already close to Aizen. People say he had his nose in everyone's business, even their rival gangs. Maybe the rumors were true.

"Ah take it ya don't know about yer boss, berry-chan." Gin said, tilting his head to the side, thumbs in the pockets of his white jeans, his smirk widening when Ichigo opened his mouth to retort.

"He's tha leader of tha Reapers."

Ichigo stood, staring at the silver haired man. Grimmjow stared at the berry like he had murdered a kitten when laughter bubbled up from his stomach. Ichigo doubled over, unable to control himself. Peals of laughter overwhelmed his lithe frame, echoing off the walls of the alley. Eventually he straightened up and noticed the serious looks on the gangbangers' faces.

"Wait… you're serious." Ichigo gaped at the men standing before him. There was no way his perverted, immature boss was the leader of the Reapers. Then the memory of how serious Kisuke got over the message he delivered flashed into the berries mind. Suddenly it didn't seem so farfetched that the odd man was a gang leader. His odd comments, the secret phone calls, the random absences from work, they all made sense now.

"Well what the fuck am I supposed to do now?" Ichigo asked, his face made up in a scowl. His boss was a gang banger. A gang _leader._ The Hollow's rival gang. And he was now caught in the middle of some sort of fucking gang war.

"Ah guess yah come with us." Ichigo and Grimmjow's heads both snapped around to stare at the fox, but he still had his trademark grin in place. He was serious.

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**Writing angry Urahara was chilling ;-; How'd I do? Reviews would be nice!**

**By the way, gaijin is the Japanese word for outsider.**


	3. Round 2, Begin!

**I don't know what it is about this story, but you guys seem to like it ^-^ **

**And guys, I just realized that Kenpachi has no eyebrows… this bothers me. Deeply.**

**Writer problems. I have way too many ideas for stories, but I'm currently writing 2 fics and betaing another and I don't wanna abandon any of them so I can't start my zombie apocalypse bleach story yet ;-;**

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Chapter 3:

Round 2, Begin!

"He can't come with us Ichimaru." Grimmjow growled, not bothering to lower his voice, despite the fact that Ichigo was only a couple feet away. He wasn't one to use finesse; he would rather be blunt. It got his point across more easily, in his opinion.

"Oh? An' why's that Grimmy-chan?" Gin asked, tilting his head to the side, watching in amusement as the blunette's scowl deepened at the nickname.

"'Cause Aizen would have his head, and then have ours. You know the law. No gaijin."

"Awww does Grimmy wanna protect tha berry?" Gin smirked teasingly and sidestepped as Grimmjow took a swipe at him. "Aizen can make an exception, considerin' the circumstance." With that Gin turned and walked off, motioning for Ichigo to follow him. Grimmjow scowled again and clenched his fists before he prowled along behind the two other men at a distance.

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Ichigo felt incredibly awkward. He still had only a small amount of information concerning what was going on, but still he knew that it wasn't a good idea for this creepy man that Grimmjow had referred to as Ichimaru to be taking him wherever they were going. His brain was screaming at him to duck into a side alley and take off, get out of gang territory and stay out, but his legs just kept walking. There was something intriguing about Grimmjow that Ichigo couldn't quite place, but it sent butterflies fluttering about his stomach whenever he laid eyes on the blue haired delinquent. So despite the fact that Grimmjow was behind him and therefore was out of sight, he followed Ichimaru, because he knew that the blue haired man was following him as well. That and he didn't exactly know what else to do at this point.

They wound through the maze of dimly lit alleyways in silence until they spilled out into the warehouse district. Ichigo's heart sped up. Everyone knew that the warehouses on this side of town were owned by the Hollows. No one really knows what goes down there, just that they are Hollow territory and to be stayed away from. Some say that this is where the drug deals go down, or maybe where they drugs are stored. Others say they bring people here to beat them, torture them, even to kill them. The thought made Ichigo's stomach squirm uncomfortably. At this point they were walking toward a certain warehouse nestles in the middle of the other warehouses, and the berry's skin was covered in a clammy layer of chilled sweat, his heart beat out of control. At least his breathing was mostly regular. But just because the mysterious Ichimaru said this Aizen, who Ichigo supposed was the gang leader, would make an exception didn't mean he would. '_Would Grimmjow protect me if this went wrong?' _Ichigo shook his head violently. What the hell was he thinking that shit for? Of course the delinquent wouldn't protect him. That would mean defying his gang, and for some kid he barely knows from high school.

Gin pulled on the handle belonging to a narrow door in the side of the warehouse. It was toward the end, seemingly discreet. The silver haired man stepped in first, and then motioned Ichigo in. Bright light blinded him for a minute, until his caramel eyes adjusted, taking in his surroundings. They were not what he expected.

Everything was white, with small colour highlights here and there. There were computers, TVs, couches and chairs everywhere. There was even what looked to be a throne in the other end, which no one was currently sitting in. This wasn't as… dungeoney as Ichigo had imagined. People were lounging around on various couches, smoking, gaming, playing poker.

"Neh, looks like tha boss ain't here."Gin muttered, his creepy smile still on his face. He walked off to a corner of the room where Ichigo quickly recognized one of the men, the tall lanky guy from the alley.

"Are ya gunna stand there lookin' like a lost puppy all day? Come on." Grimmjow smirked at the berry's expression. He really did look like a lost puppy. Grimmjow lead Ichigo to the same table in the corner where Gin had gone. The blue haired man took a seat on a bright white cushion that was adorned with blue trim that matched his hair. He motioned for Ichigo to take a seat next to him. The cushion he sat on had no colour added to it. Ichigo sat very still, his eyes on a chess board in the middle of the table, heart still beating franticly. The black king was knocked over, and the girl who must have been playing black was sitting with a cigarette between her fingers. His eyes met hers, and her jaw dropped open. She popped her smoke in her mouth and began to sign furiously to Gin who had taken a seat by her and across from Ichigo. The berry attempted to follow the signing, but didn't quite catch it all. He had taken sign language in high school and was ok at it, but only when they signed slowly. Ichigo gave up on that idea and glanced around the rest of the group seated around the table. The lanky guy was sneering at him, and everyone else was staring, except the signing girl who was still glaring at Gin, her hands flying.

"Gin, that better be a new initiate." A brown haired man growled from the other side of Grimmjow. Nnoitra cracked his knuckles menacingly, a shit eating grin adorning his face.

"Neh, he's under mah protection." Gin replied simply, eyes still on the black haired girls speed signing. The tension in the air was practically tangible. Most of the gangbangers in the warehouse were now turned around and staring at Ichigo, making his skin crawl. The air rung with silent threats and glares that Ichigo thought should be able to kill. That annoying layer of clammy sweat was still covering Ichigo's forehead and the small of his back, making him squirm slightly. It must have been painfully obvious how uncomfortable he was because a couple seconds later he felt Grimmjow's hand brush over his, their fingers overlapping on the cement floor. Ichigo's head whipped around to stare at the blue headed delinquent. His caramel eyes met deep cerulean and his heart stuttered.

"So where's Aizen-sama?" The silver haired fox asked conversationally before Ichigo had the chance to say anything. Somehow in the last couple of minutes the black haired girl had finished signing, or had gotten too tired of it, and he had procured a cup of tea. He seemed to be the only one unaffected by the atmosphere.

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Aizen sat with his cup of steaming tea in his lap, carefully holding it by the handle while the other hand steadied the saucer. His left leg was crossed over his right, and he sat straight, looking regal in his all white robes. The image he made was one of power, not that Tousen could see that, but Aizen knew the blind man could somehow sense it. Tousen was his right hand man, and had been ever since he picked him up off the street and gave him somewhere to belong. The poor, blind, helpless child was nothing like the confident killer sitting before him.

"I would like to purchase new guns for our elite men. Is that in our budget, Kaname?" Aizen asked calmly. His lazy yet demeaning smile was sitting on his face in its usual spot, yet it was totally lost on his companion.

"Yes sir. If I might make a suggestion?" Tousen was always formal with the gang leader, despite the years of knowing him. The blind man was also completely aware that despite the fact that Aizen had asked if it was in the budget, he really meant that if it wasn't, make room for it.

"Of course." Aizen nodded, listening intently, cruel brown eyes trained on the blind man.

"Allow those of upper rank to choose their own weapons. I am aware that not all of them are comfortable using a gun."

Aizen thought this over, swishing the idea around in his head. His brown eyes never left Tousen, nor did they blind, the creepy bastard.

"I quite like this idea of yours Kaname. Give them each a budget of 5000 yen." Aizen rose from his chair, signaling that this conversation was over, and exited the room in a swish of white fabric. Tousen shook his head. Aizen may be an arrogant bastard, but he wasn't the best at handling money. 5000 yen each was going to be stretching it.

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Everyone's heads turned as a door slammed open. In strode the man they had been awaiting, Souske Aizen. His robes were flowing behind him and his hair was pushed back off his face, all adding up to what somehow came across as a regal look. Grimmjow sat, tense, hoping Gin knew what he was doing. If the vulpine man couldn't pull this off, both he and Ichigo would end up dead. The gang leader stopped in front of the platform his throne was on and took a sweeping glance of the room with his level brown eyes, which settled right on Ichigo. Grimmjow's heart skipped. The room was dead silent, not even the sound of breathing could be heard as Aizen continued to bore holes in the berry's head, who stared back at him defiantly.

"Grimmjow, who's your little friend?" Grimmjow's eyes widened, and he glanced at Gin, unsure of what to say. Aizen had a way of making people uncomfortable.

"I'm not fuckin- uhf." Ichigo was cut off by an elbow to the ribs. '_Dumbass, you're gunna get yourself killed.'_ Grimmjow thought, glaring daggers at the ginger.

"Actually, Aizen-sama, he's with me." Gin declared, standing up and facing the man in charge, that smile still consuming his face and his thumbs in the pockets of his pricy looking black skinny jeans.

"Oh? Explain to me, Gin, why you have forgone my explicit rules that no gaijin was to set foot here." Aizen said all of this with a calm expression, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of his lip, looking for all the world like this amused him. This brushed Ichigo the wrong way.

"Mah, well Aizen-sama, we found him wanderin the alleys, an it turns out his boss i-"

"What the fuck? He broke your damn rules, why does that seem funny to you? Why aren't you fucking killing me right now? Why aren't you flipping shit? What the fuck is wrong with you?" Ichigo blurted, completely cutting Gin off. It took everything in Grimmjow not to slap the berry across the face. The whole room was silent, tense, even more so than before. Most of the gangsters were on their feet, some sort of weapon in their hands, ready for a fight. So it shocked everyone, even Gin who's smile had disappeared, when laughter erupted from the gang leaders chest. It echoed off the walls eerily as everyone's heads turned in shock to watch Aizen. He regarded Ichigo calmly, minutes ticked by in tense silence.

"I like your confidence." He said, then he turned on his toes and made his way to his throne. Grimmjow sat with his mouth slightly open, still processing what had just occurred. He then turned and glared at the other gang members, who were still on their feet with weapons drawn. They all began to sit back down, still tense. Everyone awaited Aizen's command.

"Now Gin, tell me about this young man."

"Ah, ya see, he foun' himself in a bit of a predicament. His boss happened ta be tha Reapers boss. Someone was tailin' him through our territory, so I followed him an took him here. Figured they were gunna execute him before he got in their way or leaked info, neh? But now we got somethin' against them." Gin finished, smiling at Aizen, who sat with his chin resting on his fist. Grimmjow and Ichigo both gaped at the silver haired man. They were being tailed? Neither of the men had noticed, which deeply unnerved Ichigo while Grimmjow had wished the coward would have shown himself.

"Good thinking Gin." Ichigo sat, wondering why the hell this Aizen guy didn't even question the silver haired man. How did they know he wasn't a mole? Now they were all staring at him.

"Grimmjow, I expect you to keep an eye on…"

"Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo." The berry muttered.

"Thank you. Grimmjow, Ichigo-kun is now in your care." Aizen's expression never wavered.

"What?!" The ginger yelled. Their eyes met and Ichigo scowled, while Grimmjow smirked.

"Hai, Aizen-sama." _'This will be interesting.' _Grimmjow thought.

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**So… what is it exactly that you guys seem to enjoy about this fic? Feedback would be useful! **

**And yes, Mizuki is my OC. If ya wanna know what she looks like (she is the girl in the profile pic, along with a bunch of other pics I've drawn of her), check out my Facebook page: Living Teal**


	4. Ready, Aim, Fire

**So its Ichigo's birthday today (July 15****th****) ^-^ thought I'd throw a little fun into the story because of it :D**

**Warning: This chapter has man on man action. Deal with it.**

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Chapter 4 :

"Guess he's stayin with you Grimmy-chan" Gin said with what seem to be a wink as he walked to the door. Grimmjow scowled. How that guy was able to wink he would never understand. Aizen had said that Ichigo was in his care, meaning that they had to pull a witness protection stunt. The Reapers would most likely know where the berry lived, due to the fact that he was working for their boss, so they had to move him to a more secure location. Why he had to stay with him, Grimmjow didn't understand. Just then he spotted Mizuki heading toward the exit as well.

"Hows the cuatro?" Grimmjow called. Mizuki turned to face them, her spiky black hair in its usual fashion, covering one eye.

"He's doing fine; the bullet didn't hit anything too important." She signed to him. Grimmjow just nodded. They all turned and walked toward the door in silence. Ichigo walked next to the blue haired delinquent looking puzzled.

"So who's 'cuatro'?" Ichigo asked once they were outside the warehouse and away from the other gang bangers. After the initial surprised look, which Ichigo suspected was due to his ability to understand the conversation that had just taken place, he thought the blue haired delinquent was going to ignore him, seeing as Grimmjow simply kept walking, his eyes straight ahead.

"Ulquiorra. The fourth. Got shot by a Reaper while workin a job." '_Why am I telling him this?' _Grimmjow thought.

"Wait… so _that's _what started this whole war?" Ichigo asked. His caramel eyes were wide and trained on the gangster.

"Yeah." Was all Grimmjow said. He didn't miss the way Ichigo's shoulders relaxed at the reply. '_Did the kid think all this was his fault? Dumbass. Like we'd start a war over you.'_ The berry's eyes went wide again, and he was looking up at him through his thick eyelashes. Judging by the look in those brown pools, he must have said that last bit out loud. '_Shit.'_ Grimmjow had no idea how to lift the awkward tension or mend the flash of pain in the berry's eyes, so he said nothing and simply continued walking.

"So… who was that girl?" Ichigo finally asked, deciding had had quite enough of the awkward silence. They had walked maybe 15 minutes with not a sound but their shoes tapping against the cement.

"What girl?" Grimmjow grumbled. He hated it when people were vague.

"The one who was signing. She isn't deaf, so why doesn't she just talk?" Grimmjow glanced at the inquisitive berry, a bit surprised at the seemingly insensitive question, but judging by the expression on his face the question was pure innocent curiosity.

"She just doesn't. Never has." Was Grimmjow's clipped reply.

"Never?" Ichigo was staring at him with wide eyes. The gingers open curiosity was kind of… cute. '_What the FUCK. I don't say shit like that. I don't even _think_ shit like that.' _Grimmjow involuntarily glared at the berry, who's curios look quickly turned into a scowl.

"What?" The ginger snapped. A light blush crept across the shorter man's face, accenting light cinnamon freckles that dotted the creamy skin of his nose and cheeks. They were now standing on the porch of Grimmjow's apartment. It was a little run down with the faded light blue paint and the smell of cigarettes constantly clouding the air, but it was still descent and a lot better than living on the streets.

"Nothin'." He mumbled. His cerulean eyes were locked with the golden caramel ones in front of him, and he had the sudden urge to brush his fingertips across the berry's face, to see if his skin was indeed as soft as it looked. Ichigo was still scowling, eyes still trained on his own, and before he knew it his hand gently cupped the berry's face, his thumb tracing Ichigo's cheek bone.

"Wha-" Ichigo stuttered, blushing even more. Grimmjow panicked, not wanting to explain himself, but his brain was too clouded to come up with a descent excuse so he quickly leaned in and shut the berry up with a kiss.

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The first thought that came into Ichigo's confused mind was that Grimmjow's lips were much softer than he would have expected. The second was surprise at how he leaned into the kiss rather than pushed the delinquent away. He stepped closer, deepening the kiss, the butterflies in his stomach making it hard to think. His slender fingers reached up and tangled themselves in the thick blue locks at the back of Grimmjow's head. This felt much more… comfortable that he would have expected. It felt right.

Suddenly the two boys heard a light chuckle coming from across the street. They jumped apart and spun around, faces flaming. Behind them, Ichimaru Gin strode calmly along the sidewalk, acting as if he hadn't seen a thing. Grimmjow spun around with a guttural, animalistic growl, and unlocked his door in a hurry, slamming it open, as he grabbed Ichigo by the wrist and dragged him into the apartment. At the last second before the door slammed shut, Ichigo caught a glimpse of Gin shooting a suggestive grin over his shoulder. When he turned to face Grimmjow, his face was again the colour of strawberries. The blue haired man's eyes were trained on him, seemingly waiting for something. Ichigo scowled.

"What?" Grimmjow growled.

"I… I don't like being interrupted." Ichigo muttered, almost hesitantly. Grimmjow didn't know whether to smirk or to be surprised, but had time for neither as the berry stepped forward and claimed his lips. Heat was pooling in his stomach, his breath coming in quick pants and gasps. The berry pressed his body flush against the delinquents, pleased to feel that they were both half hard. His tongue swiped at Grimmjow's lower lip, asking for entrance. He knew that things were moving quickly, too quickly maybe, but he was sucked into the moment, the hot, sweet, euphoric moment. Their tongues danced in a sweet battle for dominance which Grimmjow was quickly winning. Ichigo playfully nipped at the tip of the blue haired mans tongue, proudly eliciting a delicious groan from him. The noise made Ichigo's dick twitch.

Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo's shoulders suddenly, surprising the berry. He gasped as he was gently pushed backwards. His mind couldn't make sense of what was going on, only processing the disappointment at being separated from the handsome man in front of him. Or above him. He didn't remember falling back but he was now laying on a couch, Grimmjow on top of him. He let out a moan as the more dominant of the two ground their now fully hard erections together. Despite being clothed, the friction was very welcome. It was then that Ichigo realized how bothersome his clothes were beginning to feel, pressing and rubbing against his hyper-sensitive skin where he would rather be feeling Grimmjow's skin pressing against his. They broke apart to catch their breath, both men's hearts racing. Their eyes were glazed with gazes still locked, cheeks flushed, hair ruffled and askew. It was true that they made quite a sight when Nnoitra decided to barge in.

"Hey Grimm I-… Oh." Nnoitra's single visible violet eye went wide for a moment before he burst into fits of loud, uncontrollable laughter. Shirosaki appeared in the doorway on Nnoitra's heels, joining in on the festivities.

"I knew it!" Nnoitra yelled in between giggling and gasping for air.

"Shut it you two. Waddya want?" Grimmjow glared at the two men doubled over in his entryway. He had crawled off Ichigo seconds after having been caught and was now standing at the end of the couch. Ichigo stood and ran a hand through his hair, hoping his face was arranged into his usual scowl rather than the embarrassment he felt. The albino and the tall man finally collected themselves enough to stand upright.

"Starrk says he got a message from the boss and ta meet him up at the club, but looks like yer a little… busy." Shirosaki responded, snickering behind a freakishly white hand with its painted black nails. His odd voice in combination with what must be tattooed black eyes topped off with golden contacts sent chills down Ichigo's spine.

Grimmjow cuffed him over the head half heartedly. "We'll be there in 10." He growled. With that he slammed the door in the two men's faces. Ichigo watched all of this as if it were on tv. The surreal looking kid held a very similar resemblance to himself, if he were completely drained of colour himself they might be twins.

"Eh… Sorry bout that…" Grimmjow mumbled. '_Oh so now I'm apologizing too? This kids gunna be the fuckin' death of me.'_

"Its ok… I uh… I've never… done it before anyway…" Ichigo mumbled, eyes on his shoes. Grimmjow's eyes went wide. Usually it didn't matter to him who he fucked or how they felt, but Ichigo was somehow different. Ichigo sat there, awkwardly observing his shoes until Grimmjow cleared his throat.

"We better head to the club." He muttered, not looking the berry in the eye.

They walked, like most people did in Japan. The whole way there thoughts spun through Ichigo's mind.

'_Are we… together… now?'_

'_Does Grimmjow even do relationships?'_

'_Do I even want a relationship with him?'_

'_Does he even have actual feelings for me?'_

By the time they got to the club, he had decided that he did indeed wish to date the blue haired delinquent, which he knew was completely absurd but couldn't deny his attraction to the man.

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Renji stalked the alleyways, seething anger out every pore in his body as if it were sweat. That little _bitch_ had been spying on them. Of course he was going to shoot the fucker. He should he honored for protecting his damn gang rather than humiliated like he had been.

_**Smash**_

The bottle of beer he had just finished off was slammed against the alley wall in rage. Bits of glass made small _tick_ sounds as they hit the ground, sounding almost musical.

"Renj, I think you should go home. You're pretty drunk." Shuhei's reasonable voice broke through his drunken haze.

"Nah… Not goin home." His words slurred themselves together, but Shuhei was used to deciphering Renji's drunk talk.

"Renji…." The dark haired man attempted to lay a hand on the drunken mans shoulder, who immediately responded by slapping it away.

"I'm fuckin fine." He snarled. "Goin to the fuckin bar." Shuhei looked apprehensive, but Renji didn't notice. All his energy was focused on getting to more alcohol and maybe some ass. Then on a final note he turned and looked his fellow tattooed gang member in the eye.

"Don't fuckin think ah followingg me, ass hole, I'll paint the damn fuckin wall with your brain." Somewhere in the back of Shuhei's mind he knew Renji would never do it, but that little reasonable secion was quickly overpowered by testosterone and rage. He glared at the redhead and spun on his heel. If he wasn't wanted, he wans't going to waste his time.

Satisfied that Shuhei wasn't going to follow him, Renji made his way around the corner. He stumbled and nearly fell but managed to right himself against a grimy alley wall. In front of him were two buildings. One was the familiar bar he was headed for, and the other was a club frequented by Hollows. Renji paused, taking in his options as best he could, which wasn't very well considering the amount of alcohol he had consumed. Finally, his clouded mind made a decision, and with the world spinning around him he made his way toward the club.

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Grimmjow watched Ichigo's reaction as they walked into the Hollow's club of choice. It was on their territory, but dangerously close to the border. The border wasn't manifested in any physical form, it was simply known that this club was the Hollows', and the bar across the street was the Reapers.

People filled the dance floor and lights flashed. Music blared from speakers around the room as the dj mixed some crazy dubstep beats. Usually it was Nnoitra or Gin up there Djing, but tonight they were busy. The loud music created background noise for Grimmjow to get lost in his thoughts to.

'_Why did I kiss him?"_

'_I don't have… feelings for the kid… do I?'_

A hand on his arm jolted him out of his thoughts.

"Uh Grimm?" Suddenly Grimmjow was glad for the odd flashing lights in the otherwise dark room. It hid the faint blush that he would have denied to his grave anyway as he glanced at the berry with concern in his golden brown eyes. He grunted, shrugging the boys hand off his arm and made his way to the Espadas' regular table in the far corner. They were the last to arrive. Here at least, you could hear each other talk without being over hear, which is why this was their table of choice.

"Nice of you to join us." Skarrk greeted them with a nod, his knowing yet lazy brown eyes raking over them. Grimmjow just grunted again. He wasn't in the mood for small talk.

"The boss is giving us each 5000 yen to buy ourselves new gear, due to the recent… mishap… with the Reapers." The primera Espada said casually, punctuating his statement with a yawn.

"Misshap my ass…" Nnoitra grumbled. Starrk gave him a pointed stare.

"Restrictions?" Szayel asked, his hair still bubblegum pink.

"Nah, none. Whatever it takes to get the job done within your monetary limit." Starrk responded. This information was accepted with eager grins and anticipation. Ichigo cast a curious look at Grimmjow, who just smirked back.

Everyone's heads whipped around as the doors to the club slammed open. In the doorway stood a red head who appeared to barely be able to keep himself upright. He had a gun out, and kept it surprisingly steady as he trained it on the group of Espada. Most of them looked as if they were about to grab a weapon challenge the Reaper, but none did.

"Renji. What brings you to this part of town?" Starrk asked, feigning friendliness with an underlying layer of very real threats. The red head glanced over the group again, his eyes and the direction of his loaded gun settling on Ichigo, the obviously out of place berry standing out like a sore thumb with his black and red clothes while his companions all wore white.

"Him. I came for him." Shouting erupted. Chaos, Hollow's jumping over chairs and tables, weapons half drawn until Renji pulled the trigger, sending a bullet through Ichigo's upper arm. Silence. There was heavy silence only interrupted by Renji's uneven footsteps as he grabbed the berry roughly by the injured arm, causing Ichigo to yelp, the barrel of his handgun buried in the mess of orange spikes that was Ichigo's head. Grimmjow's last glance of the berry was with the small man's eyes clenched shut in pain, teeth bared and gritted. Fighting, always fighting.

**O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O**

**Soooo how do you like it? Please don't kill me **

**Reviews would be much appreciated! I tend to find them inspirational and I update faster when I get them**


	5. Finish Him

**This chapter was inspired by a burrito, so here you go**

**Sorry it took so long to update ._. but hey, it's a lot longer than usual. Forgive me?**

**WARNING: This is a graphic chapter. Lots of gore. I love gore -w- unfortunately I don't own any of the characters whom the gore belongs to ._.**

**O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O**

**Chapter 5:**

**Finish Him!**

Grimmjow paced back and forth furiously, hands clenched into powerful fists, his blue eyebrows furrowed. Exhaustion weighed heavily on his shoulders, making his thoughts slow and sluggish, irritating him even more. He hadn't slept since running into Ichigo the first time in the alley the day before. They were back at the Hollows hangout at the ass crack of dawn, awaiting Aizen's orders. Surely, there would be orders. Aizen wouldn't allow someone to take what he had claimed as his. At least, that's what the blue haired gang banger was banking on. The whole gang was here, or at least most of it. Not everyone could make it on such short notice. Tension hung in the air like thunderclouds.

"Yer gunna wear a hole in the floor."

"Shut up, Jiruga." Grimmjow snarled. The tall bastard was leaning against a wall, watching while his fellow delinquent continued to pace.

"The berry is cute an' all but you knew him for what, two days? Get a fuckin' grip." Nnoitra mumbled under his breath. Grimmjow lunged at the taller man with no warning, pinning him to the wall, hands gripping the front of the white low cut v-neck the spoon was wearing.

"He might not even be alive damn it! Who fuckin' knows what those fuckin' Reapers are doin' to him?!" Grimmjow yelled, inches from Nnoitra's face, bearing his sharpened canines. The black haired man didn't so much as flinch, instead he narrowed his violet eyes and shoved his palms into Grimmjow's toned chest hard enough to send him flying.

"I said get a fuckin' grip! He means nothing ta us! He's just a pawn! He'll probably end up dead anyway, if he's not already!" Nnoitra yelled back, eyes blazing. Grimmjow froze in his efforts to right himself.

"Now now boys. This isn't the time to be fighting." Everyone's heads, except Grimmjow who's vacant eyes were still trained on Nnoitra, turned to Aizen, who had somehow managed to make it clear across the warehouse and to his throne without a single member noticing. He was sitting in his usual position, chin resting on his hand, a lazy yet amused smile resting on his face. This was one of the reasons he was top dog, unchallenged.

_He'll probably end up dead anyway… probably end up dead… No…_ His berry couldn't end up dead. No. That would be impossible. That couldn't happen. Grimmjow wouldn't let it happen.

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'_Why is my arm wet?'_

'_Oh god it hurts.'_

'_I can't see anything.'_

'_What's going on?'_

'_Where am I?'_

Ichigo's muddled head spun as he attempted to sit up. Pain shot through his arm, making him gasp and fall back onto the futon he was laying on. He then realized that he was shirtless. With his good arm he patted himself down in a panic. Thank fuck, his pants were still there. The room was dark, too dark to be able to view his surroundings. Fatigue threatened to drag him under the cold surface of consciousness again, but he fought it off. Now wasn't the time for napping. He lay in the dark, his breathing shallow and irregular, attempting to figure things out. The last thing he remembered was the butt of a gun smashing into the back of his skull. With his uninjured arm, he slowly felt around his head. There was no blood, but he had a nice sized lump where he was hit with the gun. Next his hand traveled down his shoulder and arm to survey the damage there. Cooling liquid met his chilled fingers, and his clothes were encrusted with what he knew was blood. He closed his eyes and let his head fall back onto the futon with a sigh. How was he going to get out of this mess?

"He's awake, boss." Lights flicked on in response to the mysterious, gruff voice. Ichigo was blinded for a moment, eyes struggling to adjust to the sudden bright intrusion. Once he was able to see properly again, the vision before him caused shocks of fear to assault his spine.

"Wh- who the hell are you?" One of the man standing over Ichigo was what he could only describe as a shark. His grin looked as if it was carved into his face with a knife, a dull knife. Maybe a spoon. His black eyes screamed blood lust, and they were currently trained on the berry. Even his hair was intimidating, spiked up and sharp.

"Ichigo, this is Kenpachi Zaraki." Ichigo's head snapped around to face the other man standing over him, his former boss, Urahara Kisuke. And he was smiling that goofy, idiotic, oblivious, assholish smile.

"You-" The ginger began, again attempting to sit up. Anger bubbled up in him and burned past the pain. This man lied to him, put him and probably quite a few others in danger, and thought nothing of it. He made it to his elbows before a huge hand slammed into his chest, successfully knocking the breath out of him and forcing him back onto the futon. Pain shot through his arm again, and it began throbbing. The hand belonged to the devilish 'Kenpachi.'

"Now now Ichigo-san, you need rest." Urahara said, a fan covering the grin on his face.

"What the fuck do you want? Let me go!" Ichigo snarled through gritted teeth. The fog in his mind was beginning to clear, uncovering the events of the previous night.

"Ah, I can't let you go yet Ichigo-san. You've gotten yourself in quite a bind here, don't you agree? I guess part of that is my fault… I should have told you about my gang affiliation. And, well, Renji may have made a bit of a mistake. But that's all in the past now, I'll get it all straightened out, don't you worry!" Urahara patted Ichigo on the head and grinned that cheesey grin, then motioned to someone in the hallway. A thin blonde man stepped forward, and with a shy smile at the berry, he pulled a syringe out of a box.

"What is that? What are you doing?!" The blonde edged toward Ichigo while Kenpachi pinned his arm to the bed. Ichigo was fit, but his strength didn't even compare to that of the sharks. The needle pinched through his skin and he could feel a cold liquid inject into his blood stream. The cold spread, making it difficult to move, difficult to breathe. His eyes sagged shut, and his body went limp. He couldn't move, and before everything went black, he could have sworn he felt his heart beat stop.

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"Thank you Kira- kun, you may go." The slim blonde man bowed and exited the room quickly at Urahara's dismissal. Izuru wasn't officially part of his gang, but he was a client of sorts. Many people asked the gang for protection from one thing or another, but a lot of them couldn't pay in cash. Izuru was one of the former, and also one of the few that Urahara would allow to pay in favors rather than money, with the promise of complete nondisclosure of course.

"So that's it eh?" Kenpachi asked, eyeing the limp berry lying on the futon in front of him.

"Yes. Do you mind taking care of the rest?" Urahara asked lightly, as if simply asking the man to take out the trash. The strange man always seemed cheerful, but Kenpachi could see past it by now. Urahara was stressed beyond belief, and rightly so after his subordinates major fuck up. But instead of agreeing, Kenpachi simply nodded and slung Ichigo's body over his shoulder. He headed out back to his car, threw the ginger into his trunk, and proceeded to drive off, headed for a previously disclosed location.

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Grimmjow slipped his custom brass knuckles into his back pocket of his cargo pants, and slid several knives of different shapes and sizes but of the same set into sheathes around his body. This was what he had used his allotted about of yen for, rather than a gun. He hated guns. Hated using them at least. Just as he finished strapping one to his thigh, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Be careful out there." Grimmjow turned to face Starrk and simply nodded in response as the older man passed by. He knew it made a lot of people uncomfortable that he refused to carry a gun, including Starrk. The man was like an older brother to many of the Espada, including the blue haired sexta, but he couldn't afford all this mushy stuff right now. He had to focus; Ichigo was counting on him to focus. Aizen's plan, which they had just finished the meeting for, was simple; Grimmjow would locate Ichigo and they storm the Reapers HQ. It was also very predictable. They knew that's what the Reapers expected them to do, so they had a team ready, made mostly of higher ranking Espada, to be ready for whatever came next. Originally Aizen wanted Grimmjow with the other Espada, waiting out most of the bloodshed for more of the tactical stuff because with Ulquiorra down, they were a member short, and Ulquiorra was a crucial part of the Espada, but Grimmjow wouldn't have it. He wouldn't simply watch as someone else saved Ichigo, or possibly shot him. Eventually their leader realized this and allowed Grimmjow to be on the front lines. A shudder ran down the blue delinquent's spine as he remembered what exactly had fueled his insistence on rescuing Ichigo himself.

"_Gotta be the hero eh Grimmy-chan?" Grimmjow turned toward the all too familiar voice. Gin stood behind him, leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets. They were about to head in to the meeting with Aizen, where the leader would divulge his plan to take back what was theirs. "Ya like 'im that much eh?"_

"_It's my fault he's in this mess. I should be the one to get him out." Grimmjow growled back, not even a bit surprised that Gin knew exactly what he was about to do._

"_Neh, do ya really think this is yer fault?" The silver fox pushed himself off the wall and strode lazily toward the blue haired demon. "His boss is tha one who kept secrets from 'im, not ya. A course if ya don't get 'im out, someone else might. An' Aizen never said ta get 'im out alive did he?" Gin tilted his head, and opened his shocking blue eyes for a split second, making Grimmjow wonder if he had just imagined it, before the mysterious fox stalked away. _

_Gin had a point. Aizen never did specify that Ichigo was to be brought back alive. And it was very likely that if things got difficult, someone might decide it was easier to shoot the berry rather than rescue him._

Grimmjow shook his head to clear it. Now was not the time to be unnerved. Focus. _Focus._ He slipped his arms into a short cut black leather jacket, a plain white tight fitting t-shirt underneath. Loose fitting black pants with plenty of pockets covered his legs, and black military boots adorned his feet.

"Alright boys, you know the plan. Let's get out there." Starrk wasn't one for motivational speeches, but then again they were in a gang, not a high school football team. Plus, just seeing Starrk fully awake and ready for a fight is motivation enough. Gangsters poured out of the warehouse like ants, calling and cheering and climbing into cars or onto motorcycles. Engines roared as Grimmjow hopped into the back of a black van that one of the lower Espada, Zommari, was driving. He glanced around at the people he had to work with. Zommari, Yammy, and Yylfordt were all here, prepping their guns. When he found Ichigo, these would be the people who covered him on the ground, while the higher Espada would be stationed on top of buildings surrounding the shop, ready for shit to go down. The roads were bumpy and the engine was loud, but the Hollows were silent, mostly grim expressions plastered on their faces. Except for Yammy, but Grimmjow supposed the brute was too stupid to really understand what was going on. Why Ulquiorra chose that mans company out of all the Hollows, Grimmjow couldn't understand.

Before Grimmjow knew it, they were pulling up to a building a few blocks from the Urahara Shoten. The van parked and shut off. The whole team was silent, and staring at Grimmjow, until he finally realized that as the highest ranking Hollow here, it was his job to give the orders. A shit eating grin spread itself across his face despite the sickening turning of his stomach. A smoke would be great right about now.

"Let's go, boys." He growled, his grin still in place. The four Hollows spilled out of the van and made their way on fairly quiet feet to the shop.

The lights were out in the Urahara Shoten, which wasn't that odd due to the fact that it was 4 in the morning. His team followed closely behind him, armed to the teeth and ready for a fight. Grimmjow made his way around the side of the shop, glancing in the windows. So far he spotted no orange hair, heard no muffled yelling or calls for help. It made him nervous. He continued to glance in the windows, searching for his berry, until he spotted something that sent chills down his back and made anger flare in his gut. On the floor of the Shoten in a crumpled, bloody heap, was Ichigo's t-shirt. Grimmjow's heart nearly stopped as he froze in place, Yammy nearly running into him because of the sudden halt. A growl built in the back of the blue haired demons throat. His cerulean blue eyes went from deeps pools of focus to daggers of glass.

"If they fuckin' hurt him…" Grimmjow whipped out his brass knuckles, smashing the window into a million shards that reflected his blue locks and dagger like eyes, and jumped through in one swift movement. The gangbanger crouched on the floor, Ichigo's shirt in one hand, looking every bit like a panther on the prowl. His team followed him in one by one. By now it was obvious that the shop was devoid of life, if any living being had been there they would have heard the breaking glass and heavy thud of booted feet.

His team split up and began searching the shop for the missing berry. Grimmjow, following his odd instincts, stood and slammed open a closet door across from him. There was a futon, soaked on one side in blood. An empty futon. Grimmjow's stomach dropped and squirmed.

"Those fuckers…" He growled under his breath, eyes ablaze like the blue heart of a scorching fire. "He's not here. Let's move out."

"But Grimmjo-" A blue glare over his shoulder shut Yammy up. The idiot was probably frustrated that no blood had been spilled. Yet. His head was spinning and anger continued to burn in his gut as he stood and led the team out of the Shoten, not even bothering to open the paper door. He slammed his booted foot into the wood frame, shattering it. His fellow gang members waiting outside, surrounding the shop in an intimidating force of manpower and firepower.

"He's not fuckin' here." Grimmjow snarled as he shoved through the crowed. Espada jumped from the tops of buildings to meet him and get the news, but he ignored them and kept walking. He would find that ass hole shop keeper and he would tear the blonde mans intestines out through that obnoxious mouth with his bare hands.

.

.

.

"Grimm. What happened? Where's Ichigo?" Mizuki signed to him. She had caught up with the raging panther, elected by the Espada as the one he wouldn't harm physically. He sent a sideways glance at her.

"Do you think if I knew I'd fucking be here?" He growled. She jogged a little and began walking backwards in front of him, her single visible teal eye staring him down. Mizuki knew better than to try and stop him, everyone knew better than to touch him when he was in a rage, but that wouldn't stop her from trying to figure him out.

"You love him." She signed. It wasn't a question.

"I don't fuckin' love him damn it! It's my fault he's in this damn mess!" He snarled back, blue eyes searing into her teal one. After a few seconds she shook her head and took a place by his side. She could read people like none other, and it was obvious that he himself was unsure of his feelings even though everyone else could see them. They continued to walk side by side, though what they were looking for she didn't know. Certainly they wouldn't find the berry simply strolling around they alleys looking for them. The rest of the Espada trailed along at a safe distance, and the gang following behind them. Eventually, after they were out of Reaper territory, Starrk got up the nerve and jogged to catch up with the blue haired demon. Mizuki stepped back, far enough that she wasn't intruding but close enough that she could hear what was being said.

"We need a plan." Starrk said, simply.

"Well you got any ideas hidin' up your ass?" Grimmjow snapped. Starrk's cool grey eyes landed on his friend and fellow Espada. The primera Espada was just thinking up a good reply when a cackle was heard from behind them.

"Looky what we got here guys! A little spy!" Mizuki and the rest of the gang paused and turned. Shirosaki was standing there with someone in a headlock. That someone had familiar bright red hair. Grimmjow stalked past Mizuki, right up to the display in front of them.

"Let him go Shiro." Immediately the albino let the red head go with an ominous cackle. Grimmjow's boot connected with Renji's gut and sent him flying backwards. The blue haired demon sneered as he stalked over to where the Reaper was slouched against one of the building walls and grabbed a handful of those crimson locks.

"Where's Ichigo?" Grimmjow snarled, inches from Renji's face. In reaction the Reaper sneered and spat at the panther. Grimmjow quickly unsheathed a knife and held it to the Reapers neck.

"Ok ok he's about a mile from here! Jesus." Renji growled, pointing to his left. Without another word Grimmjow dropped the Reaper and began pushing through the crowd of Hollows in the direction the red head had pointed.

"Grimmjow, what do we do with him?" Shirosaki called, hope obviously ringing in his odd voice.

"You can have him." A truly maniacal cackle was heard from Shiro as Mizuki ran after the blue haired Hollow.

"Can we really trust what he says? What if there's an ambush waiting for us?" She signed quickly.

"There probably is, but we don't have anything else to go off of." He replied curtly. Screams of pure terror and pain erupted behind them, accompanied by vicious laughter, as if to foreshadow the coming events.

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.

.

About a mile from where they found the snooping Reaper, there was a clearing in the buildings. In the very center there were remnants of what used to be a beautiful fountain shaped like an angel, now graffiti covered and crumbling. The city stopped the upkeep after quickly learning that while it was neutral territory, it was still just as dangerous as gang territory. This circular clearing was old, surrounded by mostly wooden buildings and those that were stone were crumbling as the fountain was. The Hollows filed in, knowing full well what would happen next. They made a ring around the fountain facing outward, weapons ready. Having a full blown gang fight in broad daylight probably wasn't the best idea, but the thought crossed none of their minds as the Reapers stepped out of their hiding places in the shadows and ruins of buildings. The bastards were grinning as if they had the upper hand here.

"Where is Ichigo?" Grimmjow snarled from his place in the circle, meeting the eyes of any and every Reaper that had the guts to look at him. Laughter could be heard among the Reapers masses.

"All this for one little strawberry? You must really like 'im." Grimmjow's eyes fell on the speaker. He was a huge man, with a shark like grin on his face. He snarled at the intimidating man. The panther didn't care who he had to cut down, he would go through anyone to get his berry back.

Many would think that Grimmjow would be at a disadvantage without a gun. In fact, it would be difficult to convince them otherwise until they saw him fight. But that doesn't apply here, especially when the enemy doesn't have time to draw his gun before the blue demon descended upon them. No one really saw him close the gap between him and the opposing gang, but suddenly his knives were flying and he looked like a blazing blue panther, the fire in his eyes burning bright with rage and determination as he cut down Reaper after Reaper. White clothed gangsters met black as the battle began. Gunshots rang and blood spilled over the dust covered cement.

Grimmjow turned, pulling his favorite blade from a small, black haired, female's chest, scanning the crowd for his next victim. Leaning against a building was a cocky looking man lighting a smoke. He was large and slightly intimidating. Perfect. Grimmjow launched himself through the fighting mass to the bastard and slammed his foot into the large gut. The man dropped his cigarette and doubled over, scrambling for his gun. Before he could even find the handle, his neck was slit and flowing deep crimson. The lit cigarette rolled toward an old building, igniting the dry wood. Fire blazed behind him, spreading like a disease as he scanned the crowd again. He caught sight of Nnoitra beating the shit out of a spiky black haired Reaper with his bare fists. The punk looking guy had a 69 tattooed on his face. Grimmjow smirked. Shirosaki had caught up with them and was currently goring an unrecognizable body, looking like a child playing in the mud. Mizuki was perched on a building, using her honed sniping skills to cut down various Reapers. Hallibel crouched like a lioness, quickly finishing her victims off with a pistol. From what the blue haired demon could see, all the Hollow's had to worry about was the higher up Reapers, the ones they called captains. One with long black hair and an even expression was cutting lower Hollows down with an old fashioned katana. Another, the larger man who had taunted Grimmjow earlier, was crushing skulls, literally, with his bare hands. He turned and signaled to Mizuki, pointing the large bastard out. She nodded and aimed. Grimmjow didn't get to see if she got the shot, because a fist connected with the back of his skull. He stumbled forward and spun on his attacker, knives drawn. In his surprise at who stood behind him, he hesitated. It was a woman, with rather large endowments and orange hair. She stood next to a child with white hair. What kind of people did these fucking Reapers take in? Before he would react, there was a hand on his shoulder.

"Now now Rangiku-chan, is 2 on 1 really fair?" Gin Ichimaru stood behind him, that ever present grin made that much more creepy by the bloody atmosphere and cries of pain surrounding them.

"Traitor." The white haired kid glared daggers at Gin with his ice blue eyes. The ginger chick looked like her heart was being torn out of her chest.

"Neh, I was never a traitor. Ya see, I've always been a Hollow. I was just undercover. Now now Rangiku-chan, you didn't actually think my feelings for you were real?" The ginger was trying her best not to cry as she whipped out a gun and pointed it an Gin's chest. Her finger flexed, ready to pull the trigger, when suddenly blood splattered everywhere and she crumpled to the ground. Grimmjow turned and looked up, spotting Mizuki with her sniper rifle aimed in the gingers direction. He cackled as she signed. "What? He's mine." To him. Smoke was filling the clearing, making it difficult to see and even more difficult to breathe.

"Grimmjow." A gruff voice called over the gunshots surrounding them. It was oddly strained in a way that caused his stomach to twist with dread as he slowly turned toward where Starrk's voice had come from. Next to a kneeling Starrk, among the rubble and ash lay a large black bad that Grimmjow was all too familiar with. His mouth felt as dry as a desert as he ran to Sarrk's side, leaving the white haired kid to Gin. The bag was unzipped enough to reveal a face. Laying in a body bag was a slim, pale figure with bright orange hair. Those once gorgeous golden caramel eyes were half lidded and glazed over, lifeless. Grimmjow reached out with a trembling hand, gently caressing the smooth skin of his berry's face with his fingertips, as if he might press too hard and Ichigo would shatter. The blue haired gangster's breath came out uneven and rattling. A constricting feeling overwhelmed him making his heart struggle to beat and his lungs struggle to draw breath. His vision narrowed until all he saw was his sweet berry. He heard none of the gunshots or cries of pain around him. He didn't feel the blaze of fire or the adrenaline lit atmosphere. He didn't feel his fellow Hollows' eyes trained on him with mixtures of pity and anger shining in their eyes. He didn't feel it when Starrk left his side to rejoin the raging battle around them. He felt numb, cold, dead. He didn't hear his own hoarse cry of pain as he squeezed his eyes shut, the image before him too painful to look at. "_He'll probably end up dead anyway!" _Nnoitra's words rung through his head. The lanky bastard had been right. And it was all Grimmjow's fault. _If I had never intervened, if I had left Ichigo alone, this wouldn't have happened. _

"You're probably right." The voice startled Grimmjow and he whipped out a knife from a sheathe on his calf. Before him stood a man dressed in green and white, a hat stripped with the colours shadowing his eyes and a cane in his hand. The blue haired gang banger must have accidently voiced his thoughts, but right now he couldn't care less. He lunged at the leader of the Reapers, intent to kill gleaming in his eyes. He slashed for Urahara's throat, only to have his knife blocked by the man's cane.

"You worthless bastard." Grimmjow hissed, inches from Urahara's face, his voice coming out hoarse and saturated with anger covered in pain.

"Don't worry, Grimmjow-kun. Ichigo isn't in any pain." Urahara seemingly taunted.

"Of course he isn't! He's fucking dead!" Grimmjow yelled as he took another swing at the shop keeper. Rage ignited all over again in Grimmjow as he watched an amused smile slide over his opponents face. With his free hand he whipped the knife at his hip out, using the cruel curved blade to slash at the creeps side. His knife barely made contact with flesh before the man had pulled a sword out from his cane and slashed across Grimmjow's chest. Blood erupted from the wound, coating his jacking and ripping his white shirt to shreds and the blue haired demon collapsed on the ground, feet from where his lover lay. Darkness began to engulf his vision as he strained his fingertips toward the orange blur next to him, every molecule in his body wishing to caress that smooth face on last time.

"How sweet." Grimmjow heard before everything went dark.

**O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O~o~O**

**Hmmm…. Should I just leave it here? How mad would you guys be if I did that? Hehe… **

**Review and tell me what you think!**


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